Habit

Close up view of fall colored aspen trees. San Juan Mountains. Uncompahgre National Forest, Colorado

Ever tried to let go of a

“bad” habit?  A habit you

didn’t want anymore?

It’s hard.  Hard to pull away

from that comfortable sense

of sameness you seem to crave.

It seems to nurture your soul

in a deranged sort of way.

Not that it’s all bad.  It’s

just the same, day after day.

Your interests are circumscribed.

The world beyond your box

is not touched, ‘off limits’

to your awareness.

Whatever’s out there, you

don’t know about, have no

idea what’s possibly awaiting

your venue.

A.A. says one day at a time.  I

guess it’s the same with

all things unwelcomed in

overly attached dependencies.

You have to start.  Start

filling your hours with

what you want.  Not what

you have.

 

Photography © Dennis Frates Photography  http://www.fratesphoto.com/

 

 

 

 

 

Endings

Another day

another week

another (school) year

finished.

I wonder how I find

the energy to do what

I do each day.

It’s a lot.

I get inspired from

project to project

not really following

a script.

Looking back

I did a lot of

good things for

myself & others

which I hardly take

time to reflect upon

& give myself credit

for.

Pink Lady Hellebore flower in fall grasses. Al’s Nursery. Woodburn, Oregon

Photography © Dennis Frates Photography  http://www.fratesphoto.com/

 

 

 

Back into Joy

My life keeps getting better

every day.

Ther are ups and downs but

overall the graph is headed

up.

No such thing as smooth

sailing without a perceived

“down”.  A stumble, an

injury or accident–minor

as they are, they are.

No life is absolutely free of

all pain.  But it passes–

rather quickly–even though

it may not seem so

while immersed in it.

I do not tolerate things

not seeming to be

working out.  I stop

and say, where can

I change, tweak this

experience back on to

the road of joy or fun?

I really don’t want to

be doing it…so let’s

change it until it

is again.

Then we will all be

happy for our ‘extra’

effort to move out

of where we don’t want

to be and back into

joy & fun.

Evening

At the end of the day

begins night.

Night signals a slow-

ing for some

a coming home,

settling in,

going to what you

most love to do.

The energy of the

day is mostly spent.

You’re rich with

experiences

money couldn’t

buy.

Just maintaining

the need of a moment,

you welcome the new

and incorporate it

into your routine

of the familiar.

Slide on into bed

soon.

So enjoy the hours

less keyed up

than the rest

of the day.

They’re for your

pleasure &

enjoyment.

Time

I stepped into the time machine.

I walked through the door

into another dimension.

I was not my usual (alone) self.

I was with others.

Others who cared or not

but others,

like-minded

and open to

progressing the field along

as far as it wanted to go.

Some listened, maybe all.

Some were understanding,

possibly.

The machine was ‘out of

normal reality’.

We rose to a higher level.

Nothing lower could be.

All on-the-roof discussion.

Seeing and reaching for

the stars.

Being a star.

Shooting past the

ones below

wondering what we

were about.

Time was suspended,

it seemed.

Then it returned as

I stepped out the door

back to where I came from.

Close up of Osteosperum margarita Pink Flare.

Photography © Dennis Frates Photography  http://www.fratesphoto.com/

Getting Started

Inertia is a god.

It is so powerful.

Priming the pump

& then slowing

or stopping the

flow is an effort.

When we’re not

naturally tired

& enjoying activity,

who wants to stop?

To try to get going

from a dead stop

takes inspiration,

will-power,

strength

and positivity.

We don’t just

wish where

we want to go

or be.  Effort

is required to

go ahead toward

anything we

want.

It may seem

effortless at times

yet when it doesn’t,

we have to go

anyway if we’re

going to get

anywhere.

Silencing Sound

Some spots on

Earth

are more quiet

than others

even just a

mile apart.

You just

want

to soak

in the silence

let it envelop

your being

and just be.

You put yourself

back together

in moments

such as those.

Draw in your

forces

at rest.

Listen for the

peace.

Even the animals

appreciate it.

Sun’s Perspective

I love the sun.

It only comes out

infrequently,

some parts of the year.

I like variety.

But still I miss it

when it’s gone.

When we hide

from it,

I wonder if it

wonders how

we’re doing

beneath the veil

of haze and

apparent seculsion.

Does it want to

burn away

our barriers

to clear blue

sight?

Do we even

matter

as one of its

family of

planets

that, for sure,

has intelligent

life on it?

The sun reaches out

across the cosmos

infinitely, forever,

until it (possibly) ends

up at the bottom of a

black (rabbit) hole.

 

Tried and Untrue

I feel empty.

Fill me, source.

Something that means something

to me, something that I

value.

I know what that is.

I would recognize it if it came

into my life.

It’s not seeming to be there

now or I wouldn’t be writing

this.

What fears form a glitch

in my system to hold

me back from it?

Show yourself!

Identify them.

So I can root them out

as the unwelcome weeds

they are.

I only want the luscious

fruit of this life to

enjoy.

No one but ourselves,

know the extent of our

longing to move

out of those ‘cement

shoes’ anchoring

us to the tried and

untrue.

Crimson star flower (Adenium). Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Arizona

Photograph © Dennis Frates Photography  http://www.fratesphoto.com/

Forget to Water the Plants

I love staying home for a day.

The world, my world, pretty much

comes to a dead stop!

compared to going out.

I get a chance to take a look at

some of what’s going on in

my life that normally I

have just enough time to

pass by at about 100

mph.  Oh, that’s got to be

done.  Zoom.  I’m on my

way to something else.

You won’t get to put off

projects until you let go

of control and see yourself

not doing what you

think gives you security.

It’s a battle every inch of

the way, sometimes.

You turn around to face

yourself constantly many

times a day.

You’ve successfully avoided

those views by keeping

so busy your image

blurs with the intoxication

of activity–most of which

is the same thing as you

did the day before–to earn

a living–and your

soul shrivels–you forget

to water the plants.

Photograph © Dennis Frates Photography  http://www.fratesphoto.com/